Early childhood teachers worldwide feel that their ability to act according to their professional knowledge and values is constrained. This sense of constraint is commonly attributed to the pressures of accountability policies, aimed at ensuring and improving educational quality. By law, Dutch schools are free to choose how they design their teaching practices. Nevertheless, efforts by the government to control daily teaching practices are encountered in Dutch schools. The generally recognized importance of teachers’ professional autonomy led the authors to conduct an in-depth study on this topic in Dutch early childhood education. They interviewed experienced early childhood teachers in open one-on-one interviews to explore their lived realities. The findings contribute to the discourse on three topics: first, the generally felt forces of accountability stemming from a variety of actors in the school environment; second, the impact of these forces on daily education practice, as well as on teachers’ emotions; and third, the role of the head teacher, who appears to be able to either enforce or inhibit these impacts. The results of the study show that where external forms of regulation and accountability measures are passed on by the head teacher, the negative emotional impact of the pressures is high. For head teachers, however, operating in a position between multiple fields of professional influence also seems to offer opportunities for maintaining a healthy balance between regulation and freedom.

中文翻译：

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受到需求的约束或维持？幼儿教育专业自主的认知

世界各地的幼儿教师都认为他们根据专业知识和价值观行事的能力受到限制。这种约束感通常归因于旨在确保和提高教育质量的问责政策的压力。根据法律，荷兰学校可以自由选择他们设计教学实践的方式。尽管如此，荷兰学校还是遇到了政府控制日常教学实践的努力。教师专业自主权的重要性得到普遍认可，促使作者对荷兰幼儿教育中的这一主题进行了深入研究。他们在公开的一对一访谈中采访了经验丰富的幼儿教师，以探索他们的生活现实。研究结果有助于讨论三个主题：第一，来自学校环境中各种行为者的普遍感受到的问责力量；第二，这些力量对日常教育实践以及教师情绪的影响；第三，校长的角色，他似乎能够加强或抑制这些影响。研究结果表明，在校长传递外部形式的监管和问责措施的情况下，压力的负面情绪影响很高。然而，对于校长来说，在多个专业影响领域之间的职位似乎也提供了在监管和自由之间保持健康平衡的机会。以及教师的情绪；第三，校长的角色，他似乎能够加强或抑制这些影响。研究结果表明，在校长传递外部形式的监管和问责措施的情况下，压力的负面情绪影响很高。然而，对于校长来说，在多个专业影响领域之间的职位似乎也提供了在监管和自由之间保持健康平衡的机会。以及教师的情绪；第三，校长的角色，他似乎能够加强或抑制这些影响。研究结果表明，在校长传递外部形式的监管和问责措施的情况下，压力的负面情绪影响很高。然而，对于校长来说，在多个专业影响领域之间的职位似乎也提供了在监管和自由之间保持健康平衡的机会。